More Minions and More Mayhem Keep Laughs Loud in 'Despicable Me 2'

The minions are back for even more slapstick humor and mayhem in Despicable Me 2. 

What's wrong with being the bad guy fueled by sinister plots of global domination? After all, the perks that go along with being a stereotypical baddie are plenty of worthwhile incentives. Who wouldn't want top-notch gadgets, a decked out secret lair and most importantly an army of minions?

However since Illumination Entertainment's 2010 breakout animated film, Despicable Me, ex-supervillain Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) has reformed into a family man, raising three girls (Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier and Elsie Fisher) until Lucy Wilde (Kristen Wiig), a high-strung spy abducts him on behalf of the Anti-Villain League to track down El Macho, a villainous face of the past thought to be long gone.

'Croods' Adventure Travels a Bland, Prehistoric Road

Rebellious cave teen Eep (Emma Stone) ventures out beyond the protection of her cave.

It's been quite a few years since DreamWorks last stumbled along with one of their family-friendly animated features.  Having found out-of-the-blue success with How to Train Your Dragon and Kung Fu Panda, DreamWorks Animation was certainly giving Pixar a run for its money as the undisputed king of animated superiority. That is, until now.

Their latest animated feature, The Croods might lack the signature charm and wholesome value seen in DreamWorks previous cartoony flicks, but there's no denying that this escape to this prehistoric world has a few tricks up its sleeve. The Croods are one of the last remaining caveman families that have survived thanks to their overprotective father Grug (Nicholas Cage), believing that anything beyond their humble cave dwelling is dangerous and should be avoided at all costs. Their plastic bubble is shaken when his teenage daughter Eep (Emma Stone) ventures out beyond the cave.

Ready 'Guardians' Blu-Ray for Those Easter Baskets

The greatest gift is seeing all these mythological characters sharing the same screen.

Somebody in the Dreamworks Animation marketing department is an absolute genius. Release Rise of the Guardians in theaters right before the Christmas rush and likewise, its Blu-ray release just in nick of time for Easter. Coincidence? Hardly.

Rise of the Guardians is best summed up as the Avengers of mythological beings - the best of the best joining forces to rid the world of evil in the form of Pitch Black (Jude Law) and his deathly steeds. A thickly Russian accented Santa Claus (Alec Baldwin) and a boomerang-wielding Easter Bunny (Hugh Jackson) are givens to protect the children of the world from the Boogeyman. Joining them in this eternal struggle are the lesser known (or ones without holidays) Tooth Fairy and Sandman. And collectively, they stand united as Earth's Mightiest Heroes...sorry Guardians.

Disney's "Wreck-It Ralph" Levels Up on Blu-Ray

Tired of being the bad guy, Ralph (John C. Reilly) tells other arcade baddies his concerns.

If you're one of the millions out there logged into XBOX Live or World of Warcraft hours and hours at a time, or perhaps spent your childhood battling side-scrolling adventures with Mario or Link, Disney's latest animated release, Wreck-It Ralph speaks to gamers regardless of age.

Wreck-It Ralph begins in the 8-bit world of Fix-It Felix Jr., reminiscent of a classic 1980s arcade game that borrows heavily on Mario and Donkey Kong. For 30 years, Wreck-It Ralph (John C. Reilly) has been programmed to be the bad guy, whose only job is to demolish a solitary penthouse before his cheery hammer-wielding adversary, Felix fixes the wreckage. For once, Ralph just wants to be adored as the good guy and decides to venture off to other games in the arcade to win a medal. After battling bugs in a sci-fi first-person shooter, Ralph lands himself in a candy-coated go-kart game where everything isn't as sweet as it seems.   

'Madagascar' Transforms European Escapade into Delightful Finale

Still trying to find a way home, Alex (Ben Stiller) and company join a travel circus in style.

Everything leading up to this latest installment in the Madagascar franchise has been centered around Marty the Zebra’s “Afro Circus,” a catchy circus song that stands in for the series’ theme “I Like to Move It, Move It.” But is the Madagascar series once again relying too much on a gimmicky song at the expense of delivering energetic storytelling? 

Fortunately, that’s not the case. This time around in Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted, Alex (Ben Stiller), Gloria (Jada Pinkett Smith), Marty (Chris Rock) and Melman (David Schwimmer) are still stranded in Africa with little chance of returning home to New York until they embark on a journey to Monte Carlo to find the fan-favorite Penguins who can fly them home. A few detours later and Monaco Animal Control on their tail (literally), the gang moves across Europe with a failing circus troupe, looking for their big break and golden ticket across the pond. 

Stop-Motion 'Pirates' Plunder in a Visually Stellar Playground

Aardman returns to theaters, but not with their signature team of Wallace and Gromit.

It was just a mere six years ago when pirates were seemingly relevant; plundering and pillaging amidst a revival of classic iterations of operatic swashbuckling fests. Granted since then, Disney’s staple franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean is nearing its end after a decade and interest in a good old-fashioned high seas adventure has waned in the past few years. Yet that hasn’t prevented Aardman Animations from staying faithful to what they do best – mashing groundbreaking stop-motion with quirky British humor and ultimately tying it all together with a hearty thematic tale of excitement and camaraderie. 

After spending several years unsuccessfully branching out into the realm of CG animation, Aardman finally returns to its roots with The Pirates! Band of Misfits. This adaptation, loosely based on the first two Gideon Defoe books, follows the voyages of the ambitious Pirate Captain (Hugh Grant) and his loyal ragtag crew with one goal, taking home the Pirate of the Year Award, which will in turn earn the respect of their fellow sea raiders. It doesn’t make matters any better when a pirate-hating Queen Victoria (Imelda Staunton) and then-nobody Charles Darwin (David Tennant) complicate the situation.

Vibrant Visuals are No Match in Disguisng a Green 'Lorax'

The latest Dr. Seuss adaptation does very little to hide such an obvious environmental message.

Though the previous three theatrical adaptations of Dr. Seuss classics have lacked the ability to come close in doing justice to such beloved source material, there still remains something that resonates with audiences of all ages that only a new interpretation can offer. The Lorax is no exception, transforming Seuss’ downer of a modern fable, predominantly consumed with pitting industry against nature, into a brighter, bubbly, yet denser canvas that challenges audiences with a duality of entertainment and lecture. 

The Lorax bundles together a pair of closely tied narratives detailing the consequences of the industrial-driven Once-ler, who tore down a forest full of colorful cotton candy-like Truffula trees to manufacture a multi-purpose product, the Thneed. As a result, the citizens of Thneed-Ville have been subjected to decades of an isolated, plastic state where evil business rules their daily lives. But that doesn’t stop Ted (Zac Efron) from venturing beyond the constraints of Thneed-Ville to find out from the now recluse Once-Ler where he can find a living tree to impress the girl of his dreams.

Timeless Disney Classic Returns in All Its Animated Glory

Disney's tale as old as time returns to big screen for the first time in nearly a decade. 

It should be no surprise to see the tale as old as time back on the big screen once more, particularly after the re-release of The Lion King 3D this past fall did more than exceed expectations and extended what was originally intended as a limited two-week engagement. With a Blu-Ray and Blu-Ray 3D releases on the shelf, Beauty and the Beast isn’t here to market these available options, but to give audiences the opportunity to see this classic on the big screen again or for some, the very first time. Disney is a business that constantly seeks to reach newer generations with their classics and re-releases are nothing new for the company. 

Beauty and the Beast is the timeless tale of Belle, an out-of-place village girl who wants so much more than what her little village has to offer. Under a series of circumstances, Belle finds herself the prisoner of the Beast, after taking her father’s place after he intruded upon his castle. What begins as an awkward living arrangement soon blossoms into one of the most touching romances in not just animation, but cinema as a whole.

Spielberg Returns with Visually Groundbreaking 'Tintin'

Tintin (Jamie Bell) and Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis) team up to find the secret of the Unicorn.

When two of Hollywood’s most acclaimed directors converge together, you simply expect a project that hoists itself above the ordinary and perhaps the extraordinary too. Steven Spielberg has proved time and time again, hardly without fail that he is the universal benchmark among directors. Whether tackling historical drama or sci-fi, Spielberg has brought to life some of most iconic films of the past forty years, but it is when he ventures back to those serials from the 30s and 40s along the lines of Indiana Jones does the timeless magic take shape once more. 

Now The Adventures of Tintin might not be a classic charismatic archaeologist with a bullwhip, but a Belgian boy detective and journalist, a drunken sea captain and cuddly canine companion are an equal fit for the genre and for Spielberg himself. The Adventures of Tintin is based on the Hergé comics from that serial era. Spielberg starts the adventure in the middle of the series with The Secret of the Unicorn, which also happened to be a temporary subtitle for the film as well.

Tech-Savvy 'Arthur Christmas' Isn't Your Parent's Christmas Movie

The entire Claus family bring joy to the children of the world, particularly young Arthur. 

It just doesn’t feel like Christmas unless there’s a Christmas movie hitting the theater. Luckily this year, we’ve already had our holiday treat in A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas. But wait! Aardman, the studio that brought us Chicken Run and Wallace and Gromit are joining in on the fun with a modern take on the whole Santa operation in Arthur Christmas. 

Operation: Christmas has gone beyond the typical Santa, sleigh and reindeer. Instead, with the innovations of eldest son Steve, the plan is now part "Mission: Impossible" mixed with North Pole quite similar to NASA’s mission control. But when the foolproof plan misses a child in England, Santa’s younger and clumsy son, Arthur, takes it upon himself to deliver the forgotten present halfway across the globe.